June 2025 Speaker
Kathy Webb
Kathy Webb was elected to the Little Rock City Board of Directors in 2014 and was re-elected in 2018 and 2022, representing Ward 3 in Midtown. Webb currently serves as the Interim Executive Director of Get Loud Arkansas, a non-profit organization working to register voters and increase participation in elections. From 2012-2024 Webb was the Chief Executive Officer of the AR Hunger Relief Alliance, the statewide umbrella anti-hunger organization, the lead partner for the AR No Kid Hungry Campaign, and the education and advocacy clearinghouse on hunger issues in Arkansas.
Previously, Webb represented District 37 in the Arkansas House of Representatives, comprised of much of mid-town Little Rock. She served as Co-Chair of Joint Budget Committee, the first woman in Arkansas history to hold that position. Webb is also the first open LGBTQ person to run for and be elected to political office in Arkansas.
In 2007, Webb received the Rising Champion Award from Arkansas Kids Count Coalition, followed by the Champion Award in 2009, 2010 Elected Public Official of the Year from the Arkansas Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, Imagine Justice Award from the Black Methodists for Social Renewal and the Steel-Millar Award from Hendrix College for Religion and Social Awareness. In 2011, Webb received the First Branch Award from the Arkansas Judicial Council, the Humanitarian of the Year Award from JCA (formerly NCCJ), and the Mental Health Council of Arkansas Legislator of the Year. TALK BUSINESS rated Webb as the most effective member of the Arkansas House in the 88th General Assembly.
While in the legislature, Webb Co-Chaired three task forces, the Legislative Task Force on Sustainable Building and Design, the Governor’s Commission on Global Warming, and the Arkansas Working Group on Sentencing and Corrections. All three efforts led to the passage of significant legislation. In 2011, Webb sponsored the bill to amend state funding for city streets (Act 1032), which after voter approval of the funding mechanism, has resulted in over $200,000,000 in infrastructure improvements for Arkansas cities and towns.
Webb became CEO of the Alliance in 2012. Long active in the fight against hunger, Webb founded the AR Legislative Hunger Caucus in 2007, organized the first Serving Up Solutions in 2008, and served on the Alliance Board prior to being selected as CEO. The mission of the Alliance allowed Webb to pursue her passion of providing immediate support for those in need as well as fighting for systemic change. In 2013, she received the National Advocate of the Year Leadership Award from Share Our Strength. The competitive award was given to Webb based on her tireless efforts to end childhood hunger. She also received the Brownie Ledbetter Civic Engagement Award from the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas in 2013.
More recently, she received the Living Legacy Award and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Living Legacy Award from Philander Smith College, the Center Street Champion Award from First United Methodist Church, and Arkansas Advocate’s Friend of Children Award. In 2023, Webb received the Sandra Cherry Award from The Gaines House for her work on behalf of the unsheltered, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the AR Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Webb was inducted to the Arkansas Women’s Hall of Fame in 2024.
Previously, Webb co-owned Lilly’s Dim Sum, Then Some. She received the Arkansas Hospitality Association’s Humanitarian of the Year in 2005 and the Restaurateur of the Year Award in 2011. Webb worked in the hospitality industry in Chicago and the Washington, DC area before returning to Little Rock.
Webb’s interest in politics and public policy started at an early age, when she served as her campaign manager for John F. Kennedy in her sixth-grade class. Earlier that year, she challenged the school policy prohibiting girls from serving as safety patrol guards. While unsuccessful, she did become the first girl to serve as a fire marshal. That experience taught Webb that while change can be incremental, it can happen when one speaks up. She carried that lesson through her days in college working for social justice, and her life. Webb served as the first president of Pulaski County NOW (National Organization for Women) and the co-founder of Arkansas Gay Rights in 1980. Her work in Arkansas led to her election as a national officer in the National Organization for Women (NOW) in Washington, DC, where she honed her organizing and advocacy skills.
She graduated from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College with a BA in Political Science. In 2007, Webb attended Senior Executives in State and Local Government at the John F Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013, Webb served as Honorary Survivor Chair of the 2015 Arkansas Race for the Cure. In 2017, she was honored as a Hero by the Chicagoland Affiliate of Komen for the Cure, on the 20th anniversary of their founding. Webb served as Founding President of Chicago Komen for the Cure from 1997-1999, honoring a promise to a friend.
She is the City Board liaison to the Little Rock Sustainability Commission, Commission on Children Youth, and Families, and Chairs the Food Commission. Webb served on two commissions under former Governor Asa Hutchinson, the Commission on Women and the Food Desert Working Group (Co-Chair).
She serves on the National League of Cities Council on Youth, Education, and Families and the AR Municipal League’s Cities of the Large First Class Advisory Council. She is an active member of First United Methodist Church.
Webb’s favorite title is “aunt” to her nieces and nephews. She is a lifelong St. Louis Cardinals fan (with the Cubs a close second), played competitive basketball and tennis in college, loves books, theatre, and movies, and embraces musical genres including classic rock, country, and opera. Webb is a popcorn aficionado and lover of all the foods she prepared in her restaurants. Webb lives with Alex (Hamilton) and George (Washington), her rescue cats, and hopes to add a dog to the family soon.
